Aaron Donald reveals 2 teams wanted him to change positions in NFL
Aaron Donald was a dominant defensive tackle in college, but the Steelers and Cardinals wanted him to play outside linebacker in the NFL.
Aaron Donald was absolutely dominant in college as a defensive tackle , despite being undersized for the position. The Rams drafted him in 2014 and kept him on the interior, but at least two teams saw him playing a different spot in the NFL. During an appearance on the “ Not Just Football ” podcast with Cameron Heyward, Donald revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers asked him if he would play linebacker in the NFL.
The Arizona Cardinals also saw him as a linebacker. “There’s a chance I go to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I was like, ‘Nah, they asked me, would I want to play linebacker? ’ At the time, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll play wherever y’all want me to play,’” he recalled.
Heyward’s reaction says it all. “They wanted you to play linebacker? ” Heyward asked, almost stunned.
“They wanted me to be a stand-up guy,” Donald said. “They wanted me to be – like, Arizona, the Steelers, had me on the board doing linebacker— just running through the stuff. They wanted me to kind of rush from a two-point stance.